At home in Matteson.

2 Syllables Or 3, Pronounce This Village Ready To Grow Again

May 22, 1993|By Ronald Koziol.

No story on Matteson would be complete without mentioning the seemingly age-old controversy over how the name of the south suburban community should be pronounced.

When the town was incorporated on April 10, 1889, village fathers decided to name it for Joel Aldrich Matteson, who had been Illinois governor from 1853 to 1857. Matteson, originally from Pennsylvania, had distinguished himself by introducing the first system of free schools in Illinois.

Back then, everyone knew that Matteson had three syllables and was pronounced "Matt-e-son." But through the years, many new residents coming into the village began calling the town "Matt-son." The result, confusing to outsiders, is that the village often was called by both names.

A few years ago, the irksome two-syllable pronunciation prompted village officials to mail cards with the correct pronunciation to businesses and residents.

And, according to Village Administrator Daniel Dubriel, descendants of Joel Matteson visited the southwest suburb recently and confirmed, "once and for all," that the proper pronunciation is "Matt-e-son."

That said, we can move on to the village itself, whose growth over the years can be traced directly to the transportation of the times. First it was trains, then cars and next, officials hope, it will be airplanes.

Tucked away in the southwest corner of Matteson is a half-square-mile section of the historic old village where, in 1855, a group of farmers platted out a community dependent on the Illinois Central Railroad tracks that passed through the area.

The farmers reasoned that the railroad was the quickest and surest way to spur growth for the tiny village, and at the same time get their grain and dairy products to Chicago as quickly as possible.

It wasn't the only time that a mode of transportation would make an impact on the village.

In the northwest section of the village, across Interstate Highway 57, subdivisions have sprung up in recent years, a direct result of the north-south highway.

In between, bordered by a six-lane ribbon of concrete, is the indoor Lincoln Mall Shopping Center, a gathering of 143 stores. Since its opening in 1973, it has served as an anchor for the opening of six smaller shopping malls in the immediate area.

To the west of the mall is the Holiday Inn-Matteson, one of the most modern of that company's convention and business enterprises. It includes a 130,000-square-foot office plaza. Easy access has made Matteson one of the biggest office markets in the south and southwest suburbs.

"We believe we have a tremendous potential, and we want to capitalize on our position," said Dubriel, who has been village administrator for the past 10 years.

That position includes Matteson's strategic location near what could be the Chicago area's third major airport, between Peotone and Monee. Gov. Jim Edgar has said the Peotone area is his choice for the airport-although it could be years away from reality.

"Obviously, we have ambitious plans for Matteson based on the assumption that the third airport will be built near here," said Dubriel. "This will have a big effect on stimulating development in the entire area."

Matteson had its biggest population jump between 1970 and 1980 with an increase from 4,741 to 10,225 people. The population today is 11,378.

The building boom hit a snag in the 1980s, as it did throughout the country. But Dubriel said there's a steady number of housing starts-about 75 a year.

"We've had an increase of about 1,200 in population the past 10 years and this has been a nice, steady growth," said Dubriel. Single-family homes range from $65,000 to $250,000, according to real estate figures compiled by the village.

Village President Mark Stricker told homeowners in his recent newsletter that growth has a material benefit to residents: "This additional residential and commercial growth means there are more properties to share the tax load, thereby keeping our own individual share at a low level."

Sales-tax revenue helps underscore the importance of Lincoln Mall and nearby shopping areas to the village. This revenue represents about 50 percent of the village's operating budget of $10 million.

"We still have a lot of room (to grow)," said Dubriel, noting that two subdivisions are under construction. The Butterfield Place subdivision, a quarter-mile north of U.S. Highway 30 and east of Cicero Avenue, has 28 homes completed, and 137 more are planned.

The Hyrn Development, east of Ridgeland Avenue and south of Vollmer Road, has 57 homes built and 77 more on the drawing board.

But Matteson's continued growth is pegged to unincorporated areas to the west. Some village officials believe growth could extend as far as Harlem Avenue.

Matteson has taken a giant step from those early years when homesteaders like Frederick Illgen showed up and bought 40 acres of the first public land sold in Cook County. The total price: $50, or $1.25 an acre.